Naomi Osaka’s clay-court comeback remains on the upswing, and her attitude is changing just as dramatically as her tennis. Following her first-round win over Italy’s Sara Errani at the 2025 Italian Open, the former World No. 1 met with Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj for an emotional interview.
Osaka spilled over about the emotional aspect of tennis, how her mindset for approaching goals was changing, and what it actually means for her to be “back.”
Naomi Osaka discusses Mental Resilience and match-to-match philosophy
The four-time Grand Slam champion’s Rome title followed on the back of her recent championship at the WTA 125 tournament in Saint-Malo, her first championship in four years and her first clay trophy. Having taken time off from the sport in 2023 to give birth to her daughter, Osaka’s return has been gradual and more and more successful.
In her sit-down interview, Osaka drew the curtain on how her mindset has evolved. Regarding how far she’s grown in a year, she emphasized the necessity of mental toughness, acknowledging that her attention can be far off sometimes but that she’s endeavoring to be intensely focused on each point.
“I think for me it’s just mentality. I realized, like, honestly, sure, you can play amazing tennis, but mentally you have to be really focused and honestly in it, every point. And yeah, I think I’m getting my way back there. I realize that sometimes I do like a little bit of a wave sometimes,” Osaka said.
“So yeah, I think realizing that and then also trying my best to correct it, I know I get distracted sometimes, but yeah, just trying my best on that front,” she added.
When asked what she hoped to achieve during the season, Osaka provided a refreshingly candid view. Rather than aiming for certain benchmarks such as titles or rankings, her present aim is simply to win each match individually.
“Honestly, it’s very interesting because I know last year I had a lot of goals, and winning a tournament was one of them. So I’m glad I was able to check off. Yeah, one of my last year’s goals. But I think this year I don’t really have goals,” she added.
“I would say winning every match that I play is a goal, which is very difficult, but I think it’s going to lead me to major goals that I have set for myself. But I think I don’t want to speak it too much. I’d rather just when it happens, it’ll happen, and then I’ll express how happy I am,” Osaka concluded.
Naomi Osaka To Face Paula Badosa in Italian Open 2R
Osaka appears in her sixth WTA 1000 in Rome. Having defeated Errani in the first round, Osaka will meet ninth seed Paula Badosa on May 8 in the second round. The two have not met previously on the WTA Tour.
The winner here will play against either the 18th seed, Beatriz Haddad Maia, or Marie Bouzkova in the third round.
